Question Presented

Is it constitutionally permissible for a state to carry out an execution using a three-drug protocol where: (a) there is a well-established scientific consensus that the first drug has no pain relieving properties and cannot reliably produce deep, comalike unconsciousness, and (b) it is undisputed that there is a substantial, constitutionally unacceptable risk of pain and suffering from the administration of the second and third drugs when a prisoner is conscious?

“Oklahoma’s selection of midazolam was grounded in expedience, rather than science.”